Colorado University Athletics
Hall Of Fame Profile: Woodard A Pioneer For Colorado Men's Golf
October 16, 2015 | Men's Golf
The first of 11 CU Athletic Hall of Fame profiles, leading up to induction ceremonies on Thursday, Nov. 5, at the Coors Events Center. This year's class will also be honored during the Colorado-Stanford football game on Saturday, Nov. 7. Click here to see the CU Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2015. Click here for induction ceremony information and registration.
Tom Woodard was more than a Hall of Fame athlete. He was a pioneer. The University of Colorado's first African-American golfer grew up playing the game in a different time, a time that forced him to blaze a unique trail from humble beginnings to the PGA Tour.
At age 10, Woodard and his family left their home in Midland, Texas for Colorado. They took residence in Denver near City Park Golf Course, and Woodard quickly befriended the local boys who caddied, shagged balls, or did whatever they could to spend time at the course. The East Denver junior golf program was free and gave Woodard golf clubs and an opportunity to play. He quickly fell in love with the game and as he began playing more, it became clear that he was a natural. Frequently in youth sports, it's easy to pick out one or two kids who are head and shoulders above the competition. That was Woodard.
“I guess I was a little bit of a standout as a kid,” he said, “you know the kid the parents would tell 'you've got potential to be special if you stick with it.'”
Woodard began entering tournaments and accumulating wins. However, most tournaments were segregated at the time and the bulk of his junior golf competition came against other black golfers, which drew less attention. As a senior at Denver's Manual High School, he was one of the best youth golfers in the state but still hadn't been offered a single athletic scholarship. Instead, he earned an Evans Scholarship, a full-ride awarded to handful of young caddies who also display excellence in the classroom. “I think I'm probably the only athlete in the (CU) Hall of Fame not to receive a penny from the athletic department,” Woodard said with a chuckle.
Woodard arrived at CU knowing that if he wanted to play, he would have to make the team as a walk-on. Despite featuring several players from Colorado, he arrived as a complete unknown to the team and coaches. His confidence remained unshaken. “Nobody had spent as much time on the golf course as I had,” Woodard explained. “I was there all day, every day from the time I was 10. I knew I could play.”
It didn't take long for Woodard to turn heads; by the end of the weeklong tryout he had made the team.
Division I golf was a different world than playing local tournaments at public courses, and Woodard learned that quickly. Traveling long distances to tournaments was foreign at first, but he loved it.
“Our road trips are some of my favorite memories from my time at CU,” he said, “We had an incredible schedule playing tournaments in Hawaii, Arizona, Mexico, at beautiful courses I wouldn't have dreamed of playing.”
It wasn't just the new places Woodard loved; collegiate golf also gave him his first taste of elite competition. Having grown up playing almost solely public courses, Woodard's game differed from much of his competition. That didn't stop him from competing immediately, however. He capped an up and down freshman season by shooting a 73 at the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Golf Association Tournament, placing him second individually and propelling the Buffs to their first tournament victory of the season.
Woodard found that he was one of a small number of blacks playing Division I golf at the time. Regularly, he was the only African-American competing in tournaments of 150-plus golfers. However, he could take solace in the simple fact that on the golf course, success is measured objectively, with one number.
“In golf there's no coach making decisions for you, there are no teammates you have to worry about getting a good night's sleep, and no referee, there's really no room to get political. It's just you, the ball, and the laws of physics,” Woodard said.
As a junior, Woodard came into his own on the course. He led the team averaging around 76 strokes per round, and placed fifth at the Big 8 Tournament. He followed it up with a historic senior season in which he played a school record 44 rounds, a record that still stands nearly four decades later that's only been tied twice. ?He finished sixth at the Big 8 tournament before finishing his collegiate career in the NCAA Championship tournament. Woodard's exceptional play didn't go unnoticed; he became the first black collegiate golfer to garner All-American recognition. ?In 1977, he graduated with a stroke average just over 75, the second lowest in school history behind three-time U.S. Open Champion Hale Irwin.?
Following his career at CU, with help from sponsor Willie Kellum, Woodard left the state to test his skills on the Asian Tour. After a successful year overseas, he moved to Florida, allowing him to play year-round. Playing every day, he continued improving his already strong game, and by 1981 he was playing with the best of the best on the PGA Tour.
“I can look back and say that when I dedicated 100 percent of my time and effort to golf,” Woodard said of his time in Florida, “I could compete with the best players in the world.”
While his time on the PGA Tour was short, Woodard qualified for a PGA Championship, as well as two U.S. Opens.
After spending several years on tour, Woodard finally fulfilled one of his childhood dreams and became a club professional. He served as the head pro of four different Denver metro area golf clubs throughout the next decade, before becoming the Director of Golf for the city of Denver in 1996. Woodard is now the General Manager and Director of Golf for the Foothills Parks and Recreation Department in the west metro area, a position he has held since 2006.
In 2001, he brought the national junior golf program, The First Tee, to Denver. The First Tee aims to boost interest in golf among inner-city youth while promoting a healthy alternative to the lifestyle that traps many underprivileged kids.
“It was really an opportunity to give back,” Woodard said of co-founding the Denver chapter. Denver's chapter includes a variety of different practices that have drawn national recognition. In the Read and Swing program, kids spend 30 minutes in a classroom reading before hitting the range. The First Tee of Denver first targeted local schools with low test scores, and has been highly successful in promoting academic and character development through golf in those schools.
Tom Woodard was more than a PGA Professional and the first black golfer recognized by the NCAA as an All-American. He was more than an Evans Scholar. He was more than the co-founder of a program that gives underprivileged kids an opportunity to play golf.
Tom Woodard was truly a pioneer.
